Paul Domowitch

STAFF WRITER

Paul Domowitch is a pro football writer for the Inquirer and Daily News, where he has worked since 1982. He has covered nearly 30 Super Bowls and has been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the last 15 years.

When we last left Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and his brother LeRon, they were assuring us that the $2,500 advance he got for an appearance he failed to show up for in northeastern Pennsylvania on March 11 was ``ready to be returned.’’

Even though this sounded a lot like the popular check-is-in-the-mail excuse most of us have given to bill collectors at one time or another, we took them at their word and assumed they would send the $2,500 back rather than risk further negative publicity.

Well, clearly we assumed incorrectly, because a week later, the McCoys still haven’t returned the advance fee, and Bentley’s, the Wilkes-Barre-area nightclub that LeSean stiffed, has been forced to send him a demand letter through their attorney asking once again for their money.

LeRon, who runs the promotion company that set up his brother’s March 11 appearance, said last week that ``we have reached out to reconcile and will continue.’’ That’s news to Bentley’s, which has been unsuccessfully trying to reach McCoy or one of his representatives for 3 weeks now to get their money back.

As we reported last week, McCoy committed to appear at Bentley’s for a meet-and-greet and autograph-signing at the nightclub on March 11. According to LeRon McCoy, his brother had a flat tire on the way up to the event.

The nightclub offered to send a car down to pick up the running back. But LeRon said it wasn’t big enough to fit both his brother and his brother’s personal security. He ended up returning to Philadelphia after tweeting as late as 11 p.m. that he still was intending to make it up there.

``LeSean has always been known for his maturity and good-natured attitude,’’ his brother told the Daily News last week. ``The last thing he would do is stiff a club out of money or disappoint fans.

``His image is very important to him. And because he’s young, at times he doesn’t know the gravity of certain situations. Which is why I take the blame for the whole debacle.’’